Automatic ladling means



Sept. 30, 1952 A. S. KUx

AUTOMATIC LADLING MEANS 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Filed NOV. l5, 1948 INVENTOR. albert 6. Kl/x BWM@ KM kg@ Sept. 30, A. S. KUX AUTOMATIC LADLING MEANS Filed NOV. l5, 1948 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 Inventar f albert 5. Kux

wpfw KM Patented Sept. 30, 1952 th pera-fr', ih viewer tra@ nigh peril-jefaturaingrof initerfi infetto. Additionally", inview of-t e-v cilinder chargefsp iltn r'iiet'al,A all of Atirii'fornri volume 'so as tp insure the prduction of uniform- 1t? pffct cafn; .o .o l

(A flirther object of my inventoi'is the' proa' v' i`sio`n f means ofthe tjr vdes'c zriloex. which efev fett@ in opration an intr-ease' in the d'uction rat of a d ieca'stingmaohine.

H'eobjets and novel aspeots of the lijmen- V tion Aesfdfe' in certain details o'f construction, arrangement of parts, @and Inode of operation thereof, all of whioh will appear" as the 'fuown ig ds'rptiri 'libceeds'iri View `of the drawing l ch': o Y

g'; 1 'i an devatitall view .partly ifi cross see, onshwinglgan embodiment of 'my intention nl opratfiterelation to atom chamber die casu ing` 'rrachine certain part-s f 'wmh are mstr d., Y

g'. 2 ig iian Fview "of my aiut-mau@ maling rac;- 23 which exterirdsVF upwardlyY anclis'afffmiedry lateral' support by` hearing-blocks 'M'.`l Ali elon--fV gated-meinber- 26 Having afcamfgroove Hfisfratw: taleditftle isidefwallfofthe housing: Hf (Figsg 5 and' 6); tl'ie groove" 2Fl-y having: af vertical lower# poit'o; an r offset' vertical up'ler f portion; and# an*- nliedf 'intermediate' portion connetingf said@ two portions. A cam fll'werfroller Zts? suit-r ably iounted .neary the'lower ndi offthefgear ralck 2 3 "and" is i adanteilftof engage the walls of@ the; cam groovfl: y u;

suitably supported in bosses 29f on theuslcle. Walls' of the HousingV is: aff shaft" 31T onfWhiohe-afre mntlfor rotation'apairfffspacecl: camfwheels 32* and 33 havhgcamf g'rooveszily and. f'frespecl" ti've'lr', infrthesids thereof; Ag'eal" 3B smilatly" ruritedis'a-rrangedfbetween thefwheels 3:2 and 33E and? all are lockedy together fforffsmultanenus rdttib by knaltsl 39; Asy Wi11f-be=`sen 'in Fignlly the' 'gerrack 23 isA operative` engageltnrlt -Wt tljlje'gear 38' and' in its travel-passes between theY ca 'i'ri Wheels 32 and 3.3; While thei'gear rackvs sh'ovsn 'as the toperative'memos for the-gear ,6.8) it i'sf't'o beundrstood that 'a motor sutalblymgearred t'" 38 maybeused forvdriving'saidnggean Pivotally supported nshafti [mounted-inthe sidewalls ofy the housing. 'i4T arewafpairof armed!! and 43A having-ilobated mear'theirpwoted-ends cam follower rollers 44 receivable in and cooperating with cam grooves 34 and 36 of the cam wheels 32 and 33. The free end of each arm 42 and 43 is provided with a ball and socket joint 46. The ball portion of each joint 46 is threaded internally to receive the threaded end of a ladle carrying arm4 indicated generally by the numeral 48. lThe said arm comprises an inverted T-shaped member 49 having a longitudinal bore extending therethrough and counterbored at the lower end to provide a shoulder 5I. A rod 52 having a head 53 at the lower end and threaded at the upper end is received inthe bore with the head 53 abutting the shoulder'Sl. The threaded end of the rod 52 terminates in a squared end 55 and is in engagement with the ball portion of the joint 46. Longitudinal adjustments may be made by turning the squared ends 55 of rods 52 in either direction. The cross portion of the 'rr-,shaped member- 49 is correspondingly bored therethrough and is arranged to accommodate a trunnion pin 54. c l l I A ladle 56 shown in elevation in Fig. 4 comprises preferably an elongated body portion 51 provided withan integral cover 58, and having a pouring aperture 59 and a vent 60. Integral with the 'body portion 51 are two pairs of spaced upstanding perforated ears 6 I'Y-in the perforations ot which are Vreceived the trunnion pins 54, from which the ladle 56 is supported.

'.Theladle 56, T-shapedmembers 49 and pins 54.7 are preferably made of some suitable high temperature `Y`resisting ceramic or otherV material which will noti be deleteriouslyl affected by repeated immersions in the supply of molten metal contained in the melting'furnace.

VItjgis: thought that vthe operation of this machine will-be clearly understood from the foregoing. butfbrieiiy stated itis as follows, reference beinghad particularly to Figs. 1 and 4.

`The arms-48am adiusted tothe correct lengths to properly position the ladle 56 with respect to the sprue`62 of the injection cylinder63. At the beginning of the cycle of operations-the gear rack 23 is substantially in the position shown in Fig. l latz'the lowermost position of its stroke. The onerator'admits hydraulic fluid into the conduit 28 connected tdcylinder I6 which causes the piston rod`2| toVA travel upwardly and correspondingly to move lthe gear rack 23 which is guided in its travel by roller 28 in cam groove 21. This movementfoi the gear rack 23 causes simultaneous rotation of the gear 38 and cam wheels 32 and 33 thereby. effecting pivotal movement of the arms 42 and 43 about the shaft 4l.

"'Initheseouence of operations in each cycle the cam wheels 32 and 33 first-move the arms 42 and 43 in parallel relationship, to the position shown iny broken lines in Fig. 1 at which position the ladle: 56 while horizontally1 disposed' is immersed in the pot of the melting furnace 64 and is substantially'illed with molten metal; In the next stagethe ladle 56 is elevated above the surface level of the molten metal and is then caused to be vtipped or inclined a predetermined extent so thatlip 5S is lowered and a predetermined quantitybf molten metal is caused to be drained back int th'e meltingv furnace 64 leaving a desired quantity of molten metal in the ladle 56. It will b understood that adjustments may be made in members 48 to vary the 'degree of inclination and correspondingly to vary the quantity of molten metalretained in the ladle 56.

rn lthe next stage of the cycie the ladle `5t may be caused to resume a horizontally level position as above explained. At this point the rack 23 will have reached a position so that the cam roller 28 is substantially at the point where the cam groove 21 begins to incline from the vertical, as seen in Fig. 6. It will be apparent that continued upward movement of the cam roller 28 in the cam groove 21 will cause the gear rack 23 to rotate about its axis andcorrespondingly will cause the cam housing i4 to rotate about the axis of the cylindrical housing H. The arms 42 and 43 are thus caused to swing the ladle 56 effecting a traverse of the ladle to a position for c pouring the molten metal into the sprue 62 of the injection cylinder 63. In the next stage of the cycle the cam wheels 32 and 33 act to elevate the arm 43 above arm 42 which may be lowered to effect an inclination of the ladle 55 to the position shown in the broken lines in Fig. 4 whereby the molten metal is caused to be discharged into the sprue 62. At this point the piston rod 2l will have reached the limit of its upward travel and the operator then eiects a reversal in the direction of the travel of the piston rod by admitting hydraulic fluid into conduit'i. It will be apparent that in the downward movement of the gear rack 23 the direction of rotation of cam wheels 32 and 33 is reversed and the sequence of movement of the ladle 56 is correspondingly reversed.

The cycle of operations hereinabove described may be controlled by an operator who initiates the forward and reverse movements of the hydraulic cylinder i9 as by the operation of a control valve. It will be understood however that means such as limit switches and solenoid valves may be utilized in connection with the structure herein described to effect continuously automatic operation of the apparatus, it of course being necessary to synchronize the movements of the ladle 56 with the operation of the injection piston of the die casting machine.

It-.is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and

that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the appended claims.

l. A device for automatically ladling a liquid comprising a fixed support, a member carried on said support and rotatable about the longitudinal axis thereof, a pair of spaced arms pivotally attached at one end to said member, a cam rotatably mounted on said member and in cooperative engagement with each of said arms for pivotally moving said arms, a gear rotatable with said cam, a gear rack in operative engagement with said cam and disposed substantially (3o-axially with said support, a longitudinally extending cam groove associated with said support, a cam follower carried on said rack and in cooperative engagement with said cam' groove, a ladle pivotally connected to the opposite ends of said arms, means for moving said gear rack axially so as to rotate said cam whereby to actuate said arms to move said ladle to selected positions, said rack in its axial movement being caused by said cam groove to rotate about its longitudinal` axis thereby to rotate said cam and with it said arms and said ladle.

2. A device `for automatically ladlinga liquid comprising a nxed hollow support, a' housing supported on said support and movable about the vertical axis thereof, a pair of spaced-arms piv- -engagement with said gear, a vertically extending cam groove associated with an inner wall surface of said support, a cam follower fixed to said rack and in cooperative engagement with said cam groove, a ladle pivotally connected to the opposite ends of said arms, means for moving said gear rack axially so as to rotate said cam whereby to actuate said arms to move said ladle to selected positions, said rack in its axial movement being caused by said cam groove to rotate about its longitudinal axis thereby to rotate said cam and with it said arms and said ladle.

3. A device for automatically ladling a liquid comprising a xed support, a member mounted on said support for relative rotation, a pair of spaced arms pivotally connected to said member, a ladle suspended from said arms, cam means ln cooperative engagement with each of said arms and journalled in said member, a gear rotatable with said cam means, a gear rack in operative engagement with said gear and movable longitudinally to rotate said cam means, second cam means associated with said support and cooperating with said rack to rotate the same about its longitudinal axis as it moves axially, means for actuating said gear rack axially to rotate said rst mentioned cam means and said gear rack to actuate said arms progressively to dip said ladle into a receptacle containing liquid, to tip said ladle to drain surplus liquid into said receptacle and to swing said ladle about the vertical axis,

of said support to a position for discharging said liquid.Y

4. A device for automatically ladling a liquid comprising a xed support, a member mounted for rotation on said support, a ladle, means attached to said member for supporting said ladle, an elongated member movable axially of said support and keyed to said rotatable member, a vertically extending cam groove associated with said support,.a cam follower associated with said elongated member and in cooperative engagement with said cam groove, means for moving said elongated member axially of said support so as to rotate said rotatable member and with it swing said ladle about the vertical axis of said support.

ALBERT S. KUX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,458,685 Davis June 12, 1923 1,936,218 Watkins Nov. 21, 1933 2,028,790 Lund Jan. 28, 1936 2,188,276 Davis Jan. 23, 1940 2,227,872 Willard 7..- Jan. '7, 1941 2,363,759 Waldle NOV. 28, 1944 

